The Spring Federal Committee of JEF Europe convened on March 28-30, 2025, in the capital city of Bulgaria, Sofia. This was the first time a staturoy place took plac in Bulgaria, continuing a trend of holding statutory events in Europe’s east and south. The Federal Committee is JEF Europe’s principal policy decision making body and an opportunity for activists from all over Europe to define our movement’s priorities.
TNF, in line with tradition, was there to cover, participate, and report on these important proceedings.
Day 1
The FC was launched with a welcome speech by Martin Penov, the vice president of JEF Europe, who noted that “Now is the time for Europe to prove itself. Seeing the cost of our negligence which is now being paid in Ukraine, federation is no longer a dream, it’s a task - a task which our generation will have to fulfil.” This was followed with warm greetings by Dimitar Uzanoff, president of JEF Bulgaria and Mustafa Hadzhisuleiman, international officer of JEF Bulgaria.In addition, the deputy mayor of Sofia has greeted the participants, noting Sofia’s reputation as a multicultural and open city.
Initial discussions regarding the new advocacy toolkit, which will provide national sections with guidance regarding possible advocacy actions, and aim to “gamify” the process, with “achievement stickers” for completed actions.
As in every JEF’s statutory event, the Code of conduct was presented, as well as the gender watch methodology (which for the first day came to 2% non binary, male 46.5%, female 51.5%)
Awards were granted in a ceremony for the best activities done in the context of the flagship Democracy Under Pressure (DUP) campaign, which took place March 18-25:
– Best Overall Campaign - JEF Latvia
– Best Local Action - JEF Rome
– Best Social Media Campaign - JEF France
– Best Street Action - JEF Netherlands
– Best Partnership - JEF Ukraine, JEF Georgia, JEF Serbia, JEF Romania
This was followed by an academic conference and an open discussion with high-level academics regarding the state of democracy in Bulgaria, Europe, and the world.
In the end of the day, participants enjoyed a traditional Bulgarian meal in the national student house, where they also had a karaoke evening as the social program for the day.
Day 2
The second day started with a formal roll call which has shown that the FC had a quorum, with most national sections being present.
Financial discussions, which reflected on the changing funding structure of JEF Europe, took place. The discussion touched upon the financial priorities of the organization, the presentation of various financial scenarios, from optimistic to pessimistic, and the practical meaning of each of these scenarios to activities such as microgranting schemes, statutory events, reimbursement and more. Further, due to the need to achieve clarity on future finances, a long discussed proposal to change the European membership contribution to JEF Europe was frozen.
Than followed a strategy discussion, which included the presentation of the new four years strategy, and discussion of initial amendments, which took place through informal votes. For many of the proposals, compromises were found, maing formal debated on the third day unnecassary.
After the strategy discussions, JEF Serbia and JEF Greece presented their bids to host the spring FC, in the cities of Belgrade and Budapest respectibly. The presentations included financial, venue, and social activities planning, demonstrating the qualities of both cities as places to host statutory events in.
The formal day has ended with two short sessions, one included Political Commissions (PCs) discussions and one the Task Forces (TFs) discussions. Both were an opportunity for members to engage in policy and practical discussions in person, after many meetings of these committees taking place online.
The Gender watch for the day concluded at 28% non binary, 29% male, and 43% female.
After another excellent traditional Bulgarian dinner, the main social activitiy took place within a great dance bar organised by JEF Bulgaria. Dancing, chatting, and decompressing from the intense discussions ensued.
Day 3
Roll call and formalities, election of Pierre Louwerse, former finance officer of JEF Europe, as an additional auditor. Monitoring procedures- adopted recommendation by JEF Europe EB.
The Federal Committee of JEF Europe adopted the following resolutions, all by large majorities or unanimously.
Political Commission: Institutional Affairs and Governance (PC1)
– For a More Federal European Union: Ensuring a Democratic Treaty Change and Constitutional Amendment Process
– Calling for a European Constituent Assembly
– On the institutional design and governance of the Eurozone
– Strengthening the economic and political union within the Lisbon Treaty
Political Commission: Internal European Affairs (PC2)
– Towards a real Federal Budget
– Shaping Europe’s Cultural Field for a Stronger Future
– Calling for a fully fledged Health Union for the European Union
– Environment does not stop at borders: Towards a Sustainable Europe and a Sustainable Global Climate Policy
– Better integrated and more sustainable mobility infrastructure for an Ever Closer Union
External Affairs and Global Governance (PC3)
– Towards a strong future-oriented relationship with Africa
– Towards the accession of the Western Balkan countries
– On Future UK–EU Relations
– For a common European Response to the invasion of Ukraine and the future of Ukraine
– Countering Russian interference and aggression: EU policy towards the Russian Federation
Internal Resolutions
– JEF Europe Strategy 2025-2028
– For a more sustainable JEF
– Continuation of the JEF Europe President’s role availability as a full-time position
Throughout the debates on the political and internal resolutions, the level of technical knowledge of many participants was impressive. On a more strategic level, there were disagreements between certain sections advocating a stronger-worded political and internal policies, and immediate advocacy for full European federation, and certain sections advocating for a gradual shift towards a more federal Europe. Nevertheless, debates were generally good spirited and in many cases, amendments were resolved in compromises either in the pre-plenary discussions or the plenary itself.
After a secret voting, a right result showed that the next spring FC will be hosted in Belgrade, Serbia, which won the bid by one vote. JEF Greece and JEF Serbia congratualted one another on the impressive planning.
The Presidium of the FC, composed by Robin Mudry, Gergana Blazheva, and Valentin Petri (coopted for the duration of the Sofia FC), gave the following concluding remarks:
At the Sofia FC, the last JEF Europe statutory event before the upcoming Congress, many pathbreaking decisions were taken. A record number of resolutions were adopted, including two entirely new ones: “For a Federal European Union: Ensuring a Democratic Treaty Change and Constitutional Amendment Process” in PC1 and “Shaping Europe’s Cultural Field for a Stronger Future” in PC2.
Along with internal resolutions on a more sustainable JEF and the full-time presidency, a new four-year strategy was decided. Together, these documents will pave the way for a stronger and more resilient JEF Europe that is ready to address both the internal structural challenges as well as the political struggles ahead.
TNF is thanking JEF Europe’s for inviting us to the FC and other statutory events, enhancing members’ access to information on what is happening in the network.
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